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U.S. Recording Industry Takes Action Against Individual Users and Announces Amnesty
The Recording Industry Association of America ("RIAA") has filed over 250 copyright infringement lawsuits across the United States against individual music downloaders. Member companies of the RIAA, which include Sony, Universal and BMG, had warned users about downloading over the past few months. The lawsuits target "egregious offenders", who have allegedly downloaded at least 1,000 files.
Although the users face damages of up to $150,000.00 per song, the RIAA has negotiated settlements in the range of $3,000.00 from a number of people. One widely publicized example involved a 12-year old New York girl who has agreed to pay $2,000.00.
The RIAA also announced an amnesty program, pursuant to which it will not sue those users who voluntarily sign a notarized affidavit agreeing to respect recording industry copyrights. One user has commenced legal proceedings against RIAA, claiming that the amnesty program is misleading.
For a copy of the complaint, visit:
http://www.techfirm.com/Parke-RIAA Complaint.pdf.
For additional information, visit:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51881-2003Sep9.html.